What Is AZA.org and What Does the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Do?

AZA.org is the website of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), a membership association for zoos and aquariums. According to its own description, AZA draws on the wildlife expertise of its member institutions to promote animal welfare, conservation efforts, and scientific education. In short, it is an organizational body that connects accredited zoos and aquariums and frames their collective work around those three stated focus areas.

What kind of organization is AZA?

AZA is not a single zoo or aquarium, and it is not a government regulator. It describes itself as an association whose work is built on the expertise of its members — the zoos and aquariums that belong to it. That membership structure is the key to understanding everything else on the site: AZA's role is to organize, represent, and support the institutions that hold and care for wildlife, rather than to operate animal exhibits itself.

This matters if you are trying to place AZA correctly. A visit to a member zoo is a visit to that zoo, not to AZA. AZA's contribution is at the association level: connecting institutions and advancing shared priorities.

What are AZA's stated focus areas?

The organization names three areas in its own description:

• Animal welfare — the well-being of animals held by member institutions.
• Conservation — efforts to protect wildlife and habitats.
• Scientific education — education grounded in science and wildlife expertise.

These three areas are presented as the purpose the association and its members pursue together. If you are researching AZA, these are the themes its materials are organized around.

How does the member-expertise model work?

The phrase "leverages the wildlife expertise of its members" describes a specific mechanism: AZA's work depends on knowledge held inside member zoos and aquariums — the people who care for, study, and educate about animals. The association's role is to draw that expertise together and direct it toward animal welfare, conservation, and education.

A useful way to picture it: a single aquarium may have deep knowledge of the species it holds, but the association is the layer where that knowledge is pooled across many institutions. The benefit is collective — shared expertise rather than isolated effort.

When is AZA.org the right place to look?

AZA.org is the appropriate source if you want to understand:

• What the Association of Zoos & Aquariums is and what it says it stands for.
• How accredited zoos and aquariums are connected as a membership community.
• The association's stated positions on animal welfare, conservation, and scientific education.

It is not the place to check opening hours, buy tickets, or plan a visit to a specific zoo — those details belong to the individual institution. For questions about a particular animal collection or exhibit, go to that zoo or aquarium directly.

What to keep in mind

The description above reflects what AZA states about itself. Details such as membership requirements, accreditation standards, specific programs, and current initiatives are not covered in the available material, so they should be confirmed on AZA.org itself rather than assumed. Treat the three focus areas as the association's stated priorities, and look to the site for the specifics behind them.